


the return

by freccels



Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Ending, Angst, Arthur survives, F/M, Fix It, Fluff, M/M, Slow Burn, damn you rockstar for taking away my cowboy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-06
Updated: 2019-10-30
Packaged: 2020-08-10 09:30:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20133223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/freccels/pseuds/freccels
Summary: after the unfortunate demise of rains fall, arthur decides its time to reunite with his familyorhoney, you've got a big storm comin'





	1. I

arthur rode into camp just as charles finished his shift on guard duty, and arthur could already sense the stronger mans intimidating presence.

"where have you been?" charles questioned, worry and anger both prominent in his voice. arthur responded with a cough as he retreated to his tent, followed by the man he was actively trying to avoid.

"arthur." the man growled from behind him as he sat down on his cot, finally meeting his gaze. he looked tired.

"charles." arthur croaked in greeting, trying in vain to hold back another cough. another worried expression painted charles' features as he attempted to comfort arthur, who only pushed him away.

the usually patient and calm man suddenly snapped at arthur, his shouts taking him by surprise.

"why are you avoiding me? i care about you, but you won't talk to me!"

"i'm sick, charles."

"i know that! everyone in camp knows that! so why won't you let me help you?"

"there ain't no helping me charles. you can help yourself by keeping your distance."

"we both know fine well that isn't happening."

in the midst of their argument, one of micah's boys had wandered over to the tent to eavesdrop, interrupting their heated conversation with an irrelavant comment.

"whatchu fairies arguing about?" he intrudes with a snigger, crossing his arms. charles whips round and buries a tomahawk in his head faster than arthur could say 'shut up, joe'.

neither man was phased by this action and went right back to arguing, but in the distance micah whispered something to dutch, who nodded and strolled up to the tent, immediately putting an end to their talk.

"charles, i'm afraid you have to leave, son."

"leave?" charles questioned, shooting dutch a look that could kill.

"yes. we can't have you just killing anyone you please. this is dangerous behaviour."

dumbfounded and speechless, charles turns to arthur for support, but the weaker man just shrugs in agreement.

"he's right charles. you're unstable."

"unstable?" charles laughed as he ripped his axe out of joe's head. "you're a selfish bastard, arthur morgan."

and with that, charles left the camp and never looked back.

\---

when arthur rode into the wapiti reservation some hours later with eagle flies dying on the back of his horse, he can honestly say the last person he expected to see was charles.

hushed whispers from the natives seemingly grew louder with worry and despair as they realised the condition of the chiefs son, rousing rains fall himself from his tent.

after carrying the boy to the chiefs tent, charles and arthur slipped out to allow him some privacy, but still refused to look at each other.

"i, uh, have your things in my saddlebag." arthur mentioned, gesturing to his horse who had strayed further away from the reservation, and charles followed him to it.

arthur wheezed as he reached the animal, leaning against it as he searched the bags, catching his breath before handing charles a sack full of his belongings. he nodded in thanks before placing the sack on taima.

arthur had started coughing again, and he looked much worse. it pained charles much more than he cared to admit, but he knew his lover was dying.

"arthur.." charles trailed off unsure of what to say, and a single ear rolled down his cheek as he watched arthur wipe the blood from his mouth and attempt to mount his horse. before he could do so however, charles grabbed his arm in a vain attempt to make him stay.

"charles." arthur grunted with annoyance. "let me go. i have things to do."

when charles' grip tightened he finally turned to the man, his face softening for a fraction of second when he realised his state, before returning to his stoic expression.

"i have people who need me, charles. let me go."

"i need you!" charles almost shouted, but it came out as a sob. "please, if you go, you'll die out there arthur."

"i'm dying right now charles. now let me die in peace."

"dying in peace would be laid in a warm bed, surrounded by the people you love arthur, not being shot for a gang who doesn't even want you anymore!"

arthur hissed at the harshness of his words but he knew charles was right. he also knew that charles could manage just fine on his own, and abigail needed his help so much more.

"goodbye, charles." arthur spat, ripping his arm from charles' strong grip and jumping on his horse before the other could retaliate.

and then he was gone.

charles let out a choked sob as he watched arthur ride away, before turning to a nearby tree to let his anger out on the trunk.

once he was finished, his hands were bloody and his throat was raw, but he walked back to the reservation to help them pack to distract himself.

rains fall had saw charles cry as arthur left, and saw him punching the tree, and watched him as he calmly washed his hands and face in a bucket before helping the natives pack. after a few minutes, he decided to intervene.

"charles." his ears perked up as he heard the familiar voice, standing straight as the chief approached. he nodded toward one of the natives that charles had been helping, and they quickly left.

"i saw you and arthur earlier." charles fought back tears at the mention of his name. "it is obvious that you care about him a great deal, and he is a foolish man for leaving."

charles hummed in agreement, kicking the gravel at his feet.

"go after him."

"no." charles furiously wiped at his face.

"go. he needs someone he loves by his side when he goes, and though it may not seem like it, he does love you, charles."

the chief patted his shoulder before retreating back to the tents, and charles looked up at taima, sighed, and mounted the steed before taking off in the direction of camp.

when charles arrived, the place was completely shot up and abandoned. he recognised susan, who lay dead beside pearson's wagon, and javier who was quietly sobbing as he gathered his things. charles silently approached him, accidentally standing on the mess left behind.

the crunch of glass under his boot caused javier to spin round, pointing a gun to charles who defensively raised his arms in surrender. javier muttered something in his mother tongue before dropping the gun to the ground and wiping his face.

"what happened?"

"pinkertons. micah killed grimshaw. dutch rode off with him. left me behind."

"what about arthur?"

javier pointed toward the entrance.

"went that way. toward the mountains."

charles shot javier a sympathetic look before he dashed toward the direction of the mountains. he would've stayed with javier longer, but he didn't know how long arthur had left.

it didn't take long before he found arthur's horse, dead at the foot of the mountain. charles stroked its mane, before jumping up at the sound of a single gunshot.

micah strolled down from the side of the mountain, covered in blood that wasn't his. he spotted charles and spat out a tooth before smirking at the shorter man.

"looking for arthur? too late. he's dead."

charles absolutely loathed showing emotion in front of others, so his displeasure was immeasurable when he let out a choked sob at the news of arthur's death. micah, however, was delighted.

"shot him. right in the face. then stomped on his head a few times. just to make sure."

charles drew his gun on the man, but before he could shoot, the law began shooting at them from the opposite mountain. micah managed to get away quicker than charles, but they both still managed to escape.

it was days before charles went back to bury arthur.

the idea of birds picking at his remains had been bugging him for too long.

but when he returned, arthur's body was nowhere to be found. charles searched everywhere along the ridge, but the only evidence of arthur ever being there was his pistol.

charles held it in his hands as he sat defeated, allowing himself to finally grieve.

hours seemed to pass before he picked himself up again, returning to taima who greated him with a huff.

he gave one last glace toward the mountain, before riding away.

he could've sworn he'd heard arthur's telltale wheezing, but grief does funny things to a man.


	2. II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just a little warning, there are 2 drunken idiots in this chapter :)

arthur never imagined himself returning to valentine, yet here he was, stood outside a large farmhouse, his hands trembling as he reached forward to knock on the door. 

a middle aged woman answered with a frown and a .44, causing arthur to step back.

"whatchu want?"

"sorry to disturb ma'am, but i heard a miss (y/n) was staying here?"

the woman grunted in response and shut the door and seconds later arthur heard her shouting for whom he had requested. 

the door reopened to a slightly younger woman, with dirty blonde hair and a face covered in freckles, almost identical to arthur's own. 

"arthur?" she stuttered, completely dumbfounded.

"its me, little sister." he replied with a smile, and that was all it took for her to jump into his arms. 

he wasted no time in returning the gesture, wrapping his arms around her middle and lifting her from the floorboards with relative ease. 

"i ain't little anymore, artie," she scoffed, the sound of her laugh bringing a tear to arthur's eye. 

"yeah yeah, whatever you say (y/n/n)." 

she pulled away to properly inspect her brother's face, a few tears slipping down her cheeks at the sight of her only sibling, alive and well for the first time in seven years.  
however, arthur was distracted from his sisters tears as he observed her actions; once she had left his embrace, her arms had immediately curled around her stomach in a protective manner. 

"you're.... pregnant?" arthur deduced, his jaw slack with disbelief as she nodded in return.  
a nervous laugh escaped him as he too rested his hands on (y/n)'s stomach.  
a moment of silence was shared between them before the door burst open once again, to reveal a less scrawny than he remembered kieran duffy.

"mister arthur! i- i thought you was-"  
"she's pregnant!" arthur interrupted, and kieran nodded with a laugh.  
"i know, sir."  
"did you- is she- are you...?"  
"yes," (y/n) chuckled at her brothers naïvety. "we're engaged. the child is his." 

"engaged!?" arthur spluttered, noticing the brass bands on each of their fingers. "i've missed so much." 

the three shared a brief hug before (y/n) demanded that arthur sit and explain his absence. 

in retrospect, he probably should've contacted them a lot sooner, because so much could have happened in seven years. he explained that when he was on the mountain taking what he thought was his final breath, rains fall arrived on horseback and rode him back to the reservation, nursing him back to prime health over the course of two years.  
after arthur considered himself well enough, he decided to repay the chief and his people for saving his life, although rains fall demanded it was unnecessary. so he spent four years helping the reservation; from relocating to hunting and cooking, as well as delivering parcels and medicine.  
it wasn't until rains fall was on his deathbed that arthur had realised that some of his family could still be alive out there, so he spent six more months with the reservation after the death of the chief, making sure they were stable while they helped him locate those important to him. 

"and now here i am." 

kieran was still in a state of shock from seeing a dead man walking, but (y/n) was thoroughly inspecting her brothers face for any signs of sickness or harm.  
her hand reached to turn his head to the right and then the left, arthur managing to push her away a little before she could fuss anymore. 

"but how've you been? have you been well?" arthur questions, more so to kieran, who had seated himself in the grass beside the bench the morgan siblings shared.  
"how's that eye?" 

"ah, fine. i can still see well enough. its not as bad as it looks, sir." 

arthur was talking about the wound kieran had recieved at the hand of colm o'driscoll. on the night that the camp had a party to celebrate jack's return, a few of his men snook into shady belle and had taken kieran. lenny was on duty and saw a few o'driscoll's lingering and warned the others, and kieran's disappearance was quickly noticed.  
unfortunately, by the time dutch and arthur had arrived, they had already began cutting into the boy.  
strauss managed to patch him up, but was unable to reverse the damage they had caused to his eye where it had almost been gouged out.  
fortunately, kieran was only left with a scar over his left eye and slight discolouring around the iris, leaving him partially blind. but it was better than dead. 

"well, we've been in contact with some of the others. john, abigail and little jack, they have a farm down in blackwater now. mary-beth is a writer. pearson runs the general store in rhodes and sadie hunts bounties for a living." 

arthur smiled at the thought of his remaining family not only living, but thriving; even after the events of 1899 they continued on, strong as ever. 

"and, what about charles?" 

"haven't heard anything from him in years, artie." (y/n) said apologetically, and arthur could only nod in reply. "we'll send word up to the marston's, if you want? we've been meaning to go up anyway." 

"'course, just don't tell 'em i'm coming. want it to be a surprise." he flashed a mischievous grin at the couple, quickly pushing away all of his doubts.  
(y/n) stood, brushing imaginary dust from her skirt before letting her hands rest on her stomach once more. 

"alright, i've got a letter to write. see you boys later," she paused, ruffling arthur's dirty blonde hair affectionately. "i hope."

"don't worry, i ain't planning on going anywhere, (y/n/n)."

she plants a swift kiss on arthur's forehead before turning to kieran, capturing him in a quick embrace. he leaves a small kiss on her cheek and then (y/n) disappears back inside the house.

arthur and kieran decide to head into valentine for a few drinks and an in depth talk about kierans intentions with (y/n). 

(y/n) only managed to find them by chance, watching the pair stumble out of the saloon as she headed for the post office. she sighed fondly at the two as they laughed at themselves trying to follow her to the post office. 

once (y/n) had convinced the mailman to deliver the letter immediately, she turned to the boys who had taken it upon themselves to sprawl over the benches in the train station. 

"c'mon boys, let's get you home." she tutted affectionately, and both men slung an arm around her shoulders and merrily skipped out of the building, singing drunkenly all the while. 

the walk, or rather, stumble, had gone interrupted until they reached the hotel. 

"and this is where i depart, my friends." arthur hiccupped, leaving a loving kiss on his sisters forehead and attempting a salute for kieran before twisting right around and disappearing inside the hotel, leaving (y/n) to get her severely intoxicated fiancé back to their rented room. 

kieran, however, had other plans. his gaze had settled upon a dog. 

"puppy!" 

"kieran, no, we gotta-"

"aww! c'mere boy!" 

the dog did not heed kieran's request and ran, and in his haste to catch it, kieran had managed to trip and almost land in a water trough. 

"alright. time to go home." (y/n) exhaustedly exclaimed, grabbing kieran by the collar and tugging him back up the hill to the farmhouse. 

once inside, kieran tried and failed to make his way up the stairs, collapsing midway and sliding back down. (y/n) watched unimpressed, hands on her hips and brow cocked. 

"help." kieran muttered and that was all it took for her to smile, her hands expertly dipping around his middle and lifting him up. 

"use the railing, hun." 

after roughly twenty minutes of stumbling and drunken apologies, they finally reached their room.  
as soon as (y/n) opened the door, kieran trudged inside and collapsed face first onto the bed, asleep. 

with an exasperated sigh, (y/n) removed his shoes before getting herself ready for bed, looking over her shoulder every now and then to check if kieran was still breathing. 

carefully, she climbed into the double bed beside kieran, reaching over him to dim the lantern that sat on his beside table before snuggling up to him under the covers. 

"i love you, (y/n/n)." kieran drawled, resting his palm on her bump. 

"i love you too hun. now get some sleep, busy day tomorrow." 

kieran hummed in response and soon enough, the couple had both drifted into sleep.


	3. III

waking up to the love of his life was easily the best feeling in the world, kieran had decided very early on in their relationship.

however, waking up with the biggest hangover with the sun shining directly in his eyes was easily the worst thing kieran would ever experience.

a loud groan stirred (y/n) from her sleep, looking over just in time to see kieran cover his face with a pillow.

"how ya feelin?"

"i hate myself."

she chuckled as she reached over kieran to draw the curtains, easing his headache slightly. he mumbled from beneath the pillow before moving it, looking up at (y/n) who was sitting up against his legs.

"good morning, gorgeous." she drawled in that thick accent of hers, knowing how it made him melt. he flashed a loving smile her way as he sat up, immediately regretting his decision as his head began to spin.

a cool hand on the side of his face distracted him from the pain. his eyes fluttered open again and immediately landing on the angelic face of his fiancée.  
he pressed a small kiss to her palm before leaning his head on her shoulder, sighing blissfully as she twirled his shaggy hair in her fingers.

a few chaste kisses against the soft skin of her neck brought y/n back to the present, humming in approval as she carefully pushed him back, much to kieran's disappointment.

"not now, love."

"why not?" he pouted, batting his eyelashes at her as she stood from the bed.

"because the last time that happened you got me pregnant," kieran beamed with pride as his eyes raked over her figure. "and, we've got things to do. c'mon, up."

kieran groaned as y/n dragged him from the bed, dramatically flailing his slightly muscled limbs before he finally stood beside her, sticking his bottom lip out to show his dissatisfaction.  
y/n sighed and began to pack, leaving kieran to the wash basin.

after kierans third coffee, the couple finally trudged out the house, saying their goodbye-for-nows to their rent lady before packing the wagon.

arthur leaned against the rickety old wagon, his horse tethered to it alongside bradwen. he flashed the two a smile as they approached, leaving a small kiss on his sisters forehead.

"how're ya feelin'?" arthur questioned y/n, observing how her arms cradled her stomach and smiling fondly.

"just fine, arthur. and yourself?"

"not as bad as poor old kieran over there," he chuckled at the man as he winced at the bright summer sun. "y'alright over there, kid?"

"not so loud!" kieran hissed in respsonse, massaging his temples and frowning.  
the siblings chuckled at his actions as they seated themselves aboard the wagon.

it was roughly noon when the trio reached strawberry, deciding to take a small break before heading back out on the road.  
y/n and arthur took a stroll around the small town while kieran stopped off at the general store for snacks.

"so," arthur interrupted the comfortable silence, giving a sideglance at his sister. "have you thought of any names? y'know, for the baby?"

"well, i'm convinced he'll be a boy, so... we're gonna name him arthur."

arthur stopped dead in his tracks, jaw slack in disbelief.

"you... you're not jokin'?"  
she shook her head, smiling softly.

"why wouldya wanna give him my name for? i ain't nuthin special, y/n."

"'course you are. arthur, you're the best man i know."

y/n swiftly wrapped her arms around arthur's middle.

"thank you." arthur said quietly, pressing a kiss to the top of her head as she pulled away, flashing him a bright smile. "and what if she's a girl?"

"hm. kieran's taken a shine to the name isabelle, he really wants a little girl."

"isabelle," arthur repeated, sounding out each letter. "real fancy, dontcha think?"

"yeah. she'll stick out like a sore thumb with a name like that. someone'll think she's an heiress. real spoiled lady name."

they laughed together as they approached the wagon for the final leg of the journey, greeting a rather eager kieran.

"hey hon. how'd ya get on?"  
with a gap-toothed smile, kieran revealed a small chocolate bar from behind his back, and y/n's eyes lit up. "you didn't!"

"i did!"

y/n let out a happy giggle, wrapping her arms around kierans neck as arthur laughed at the pair and climbed onto the back of the wagon.

kieran laughed as y/n peppered him in kisses, managing to utter a few 'i love you's inbetween.

"okay, okay! take the chocolate before it melts!"  
y/n hurriedly took the chocolate from him, tearing open the wrapper hungrily as she sat on the wagon across from arthur.

after about ten minutes of uniterrupted silence, arthur felt y/n sidle up beside him, resting her head on his shoulder as she gazed expectingly at his closed journal. he let out a quiet sigh.

"still drawing?" she questioned innocently. y/n had found out about arthur's hobby at a young age, which he found quite embarassing.

"didn't really have much to do when i was bedridden. so i jus drew."

"can i see?"

begrudginly, arthur flipped open his journal to the beginning, handing it to his sister and watching her eagerly thumb through the pages.

she gently traced the linework of his earliest entry, a drawn memory of beaver hollow. flipping through a few pages of writing, she stopped at a series of drawings; the graves of those they had lost. sean's and grimshaws graves were captured perfectly, it was almost as if y/n was actually there. the next pages revealed the graves of lenny and hosea and she had to pause and gather herself.

the next page revealed and extremely well detailed drawing of a mountainside, a grave facing the sunset.

"you.. visited your own grave?" he nodded silently, drawing a breath before he spoke again.

"rains fall offered to take me." he almost whispered, as he guestered to the next page. "i helped him bury his son."

sure enough, the next drawing revealed eagle flies burial, the site marked by a stick protruding from the ground with a piece of fabric hanging from it.

"that's real nice, arthur."

they remained in silence for a while longer as she continued to skim through the book, pausing every now and then at a few drawings of former camp members.

nearing the end of the journal, y/n discovered the only drawing of charles yet. it was flawlessy drawn from memory, a private memory. y/n had never seen charles smile like that. slowly, she closed the book, tracing over the markings along its spine before handing it back to her brother.

"you've gotten better. maybe you should start drawing professionally."

"shuddup."

"i'm serious! they're real good!" she laughed at arthur's timid nature as he blushed deeply at his sisters comment. the siblings spent the rest of the journey reminiscing about old memories.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> will arthur and charles be reunited in the next chapter? who knows!


End file.
